The effects of BaZrO₃ addition on the structural and electrical properties of BaTiO₃-based base-metal-electrode (BME) multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) ceramics were investigated. Dielectric compositions containing 0–9 wt% BaZrO₃ were fabricated using a conventional MLCC process, and their crystal structure, dielectric behavior, temperature stability, frequency stability, and insulation resistance were evaluated. X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement confirmed the formation of a single-phase perovskite structure for all compositions. Increasing BaZrO₃ content resulted in a systematic shift of diffraction peaks toward lower angles and an increase in unit-cell volume from 64.61 to 66.05 ų, indicating successful Zr incorporation into the BaTiO₃ lattice. The dielectric permittivity increased with BaZrO₃ addition and reached a maximum value of approximately 2,110 at 6 wt%, while dielectric loss decreased significantly. Capacitance stability against temperature and frequency variations was markedly improved with increasing BaZrO₃ content. In addition, insulation resistance increased substantially over the investigated temperature range, demonstrating enhanced electrical reliability.

Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) has attracted significant attention as a next-generation insulating material due to its ecofriendly nature and outstanding functionalities. However, conventional kraft insulation paper suffers from limited dielectric breakdown strength and long-term reliability under high-voltage conditions, highlighting the need for alternative materials. In this study, kraft pulp was combined with five types of CNFs (A, B, C: wood-based / D, E: non-wood-based) to fabricate composite insulation papers, and their electrical and mechanical properties were systematically evaluated. The results showed that CNF incorporation generally enhanced density and tensile strength, while certain types contributed to lowering dielectric constant and improving breakdown strength. Among the wood-based CNFs, type C exhibited the most balanced performance in terms of dielectric stability and mechanical reinforcement. Among the non-wood-based CNFs, type E demonstrated notable improvements in structural compactness and tensile strength, suggesting favorable reliability. Therefore, this study identifies CNF C among wood-based types and CNF E among non-wood-based types as the most promising candidates for insulation performance enhancement, suggesting their applicability as next-generation insulating materials for power equipment and ecofriendly electronic devices.

Abstract In this study, to develop composition ceramics for energy harvesting devices, Pb(Ni_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-Pb(Zr Ti)O₃ system ceramics substituted with Pb(Mg_1/2W_1/2)O₃ were manufactured by conventional mixed oxide method using Li₂CO₃ and Na₂CO₃ (LNCO) as sintering aids. Their microstructure and piezoelectric properties were also investigated. At the specimen sintered at 930℃, high values of piezoelectric properties appeared: the dielectric constant (εr) of 2,522 planar electromechanical coupling factor kp of 0.602, and k₃₁ of 0.385, d31 = 229 [pC/N], g₃₁ = 10.13 [mV.m/N], Qm of 70, respectively. These values were suitable for the application of devices such as energy harvesting devices and ultrasonic devices.

This study developed a dielectric composition for high-capacitance MLCCs with C0G and U2J temperature compensation characteristics (Class I) under reducing conditions. The potential application of this composition in highpermittivity class I MLCCs was examined. Using (Ba₀.₂₄Ca₀.₁₆Sr₀.₆)(TiₓZr₁₋ₓ)O₃. XRD analysis showed that secondary phases like Sr₂TiO₄ and TiO₂ formed at higher Ti content, affecting the stoichiometric balance. Adjusting the Ti/Zr molar ratio resulted in a dielectric constant of 41.2 ~ 105, a dielectric loss of 0.082 ~ 0.174%, and insulation resistance above 1.6 × 10¹³ ohms at 25℃. The TCC shifted from C0G to U2J as the Ti/Zr ratio increased, but the composition enabled the design of high-capacitance and high-voltage MLCCs with favorable dielectric and electrical properties.

Citations

• High-throughput ceramics processing method using cellulose nanofiber dispersions for rapid materials exploration
  Sou Yasuhara, Yosuke Sugita, Masaki Tozuka, Takuya Hoshina
  Journal of Materials Chemistry C.2026; 14(31): 14136.     CrossRef
• Thermally stimulated depolarization current study of acceptor-doped zirconate-based perovskites
  Rena Isowaki, Masaya Kawaguchi, Keisuke Kishi, Toshiki Okazaki, Maiko Nagayoshi, Kiyoshi Matsubara, Takao Sada
  Japanese Journal of Applied Physics.2026; 65(15): 151003.     CrossRef

Ceramic powder is an important material used for various purposes in advanced industries, and the fundamental properties of ceramic powder such as particle size, particle size distribution, and flow properties play a decisive role in determining the quality and performance of the final product. In general, these properties have been evaluated through particle size and shape analysis. However, these methods have limitations in providing a comprehensive understanding phenomena related to powder flow, coagulation, and wear. Consequently, performance evaluation based on the analysis of powder flow properties has been increasingly adopted. Previously, flow properties were primarily assessed using funnel-based methods. However, these methods have limitations, as they are challenging to apply to powders smaller than a few micrometers or those with strong coagulation tendencies, and they also suffer from low reliability. To address these issues, this paper introduces a novel piece of equipment that measures flow properties using image analysis and presents various parameters for static and dynamic flow behavior based on this technique. The proposed equipment offers exceptional versatility, as it can be applied to all types of ceramic powders regardless of their size or shape. The principles and measurement methods of the equipment are demonstrated through static and dynamic image analysis of ceramic powders with varying sizes and shapes used as examples.

This study investigates the effects of chemical etching for anti-glare (AG) treatment and the subsequent deposition of a TiZrO₂/SiO₂ double-layer anti-reflection (AR) coating on glass surfaces. The AG treatment was performed using ammonium fluoride in gel form via screen printing, followed by electron beam deposition of SiO₂/TiZrO₂ layers. The surface roughness, optical transmittance, and refractive index were analyzed. The results revealed that while the surface roughness increased with larger screen patterns during the AG treatment, it was reduced by the deposition of the AR layers. Additionally, the gloss caused by external light was higher with lower surface roughness, but it was effectively reduced by the AR coating. The optical reflectance showed minimal changes during the AG treatment, remaining similar to that of bare glass substrates. However, the AR coating significantly decreased reflectance. The combination of AG treatment and AR coating improved optical transmittance and reduced gloss, making this method beneficial for enhancing visibility in automotive displays. The findings suggest that this approach can mitigate the impact of external light and improve the clarity of displayed information, making it suitable for automotive display applications.

In this study, Pb(Ni_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ ceramics substituted with Pb(Mg_1/2W_1/2)O₃ were fabricated with the variation of CuO for application to ultrasonic cleaning of removable orthodontic appliances (ROA). And their piezoelectric and dielectric properties were investigated. At the 0.12 wt% CuO added ceramics sintered at 930℃, the excellent values of dielectric constant=2,519, density=7.82 g/㎤, kp=0.64, d₃₃=536 pC/N, Qm=57 were obtained, respectively. These values were suitable for application to ultrasonic cleaning of ROA.

In this study, the electrical properties of a C0G (class 1 ceramic) dielectric composition with internal reducibility, specifically (Ba_0.27CaSr)(Zr_0.95Ti_0.05)O₃, were investigated by fixing Ba at the A site and varying the Ca/Sr molar ratio. The potential application of this composition in high-permittivity C0G MLCCs was examined. The powder was calcined at 1,150℃ for 2 hours, as determined by TG-DTA analysis, and the resulting powder was ground to achieve a particle size (D50) of 0.35 to 0.4 μm and a specific surface area (BET) of 4.5 to 5.0 g/m². With a Ca/Sr molar ratio of 0.3, the composition (Ba0.27Ca0.17Sr0.56) (Zr0.95Ti0.05)O₃ exhibited electrical properties with a permittivity of 41.9, a loss of less than 0.008%, and an insulation resistance exceeding 2.2×10¹³ Ω. The feasibility of using this composition for high-capacitance C0G MLCCs was confirmed.

Citations

• Thermally stimulated depolarization current study of acceptor-doped zirconate-based perovskites
  Rena Isowaki, Masaya Kawaguchi, Keisuke Kishi, Toshiki Okazaki, Maiko Nagayoshi, Kiyoshi Matsubara, Takao Sada
  Japanese Journal of Applied Physics.2026; 65(15): 151003.     CrossRef

In this study, KTN heterolayer thin films were fabricated by alternately stacking films of K(Ta_0.70Nb_0.30)O₃ and K(Ta_0.55Nb_0.45)O₃ synthesized using the sol-gel method. The sintering temperature and time were 750℃ and 1 hour, respectively. All specimens exhibited a polycrystalline pseudo-cubic crystal structure, with a lattice constant of approximately 0.398 nm. The average grain size was around 130~150 nm, indicating relatively uniform sizes regardless of the number of coatings. The average thickness of a single-coated film was approximately 70 nm. The phase transition temperature of the KTN heterolayer films was found to be approximately 8~12℃. Moreover, the 6-coated KTN heterolayer film displayed an excellent dielectric constant of about 11,000. As the number of coatings increased, and consequently the film thickness, the remanent polarization increased, while the coercive field decreased. The 6-coated KTN heterolayer film exhibited a remanent polarization and coercive field of 11.4 μC/cm² and 69.3 kV/cm at room temperature, respectively. ΔT showed the highest value at a temperature slightly above the Curie temperature, and for the 6-coated KTN heterolayer film, the ΔT and ΔT/ΔE were approximately 1.93 K and 0.128×10^-6 K·m/V around 40℃, respectively.

(La0.7Sr0.3)(Mn1-xFex)O3 (LSMFO) (x = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09, 0.12) precursor solution are prepared by sol-gel method. LSMFO thin films are fabricated by the spin-coating method on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate, and the sintering temperature and time are 800℃ and 1 hr, respectively. The average thickness of the 6-times coated LSMFO films is about 181 to 190 nm and average grain size is about 18 to 20 nm. As the amount of Fe added in the LSMFO thin film increased, the resistivity decreased, and the TCR and B25/65-value increased. Electrical resistivity, TCR and B25/65-value of the (La0.7Sr0.3)(Mn0.88Fe0.12)O3 thin film are 0.0136 mΩ-cm, 0.358%/℃, and 328 K at room temperature, respectively. The resistivity properties of LSMFO thin films matched well with Mott’s VRH model.

La_0.7Sr_0.3-xMg_xMnO₃ (LSMMO) (x=0.05~0.20) specimens are fabricated by a solid phase sintering method, and the sintering temperature and time are 1,300℃ and 2 hours, respectively. The dependence of the crystalline structure according to the amount of Mg²⁺ contents is not observed, and all specimens show a polycrystalline rhombohedral crystal structure, the X-ray diffraction (110) peaks move to the high angle side with increasing the amount of Mg²⁺ contents. LSMMO specimens exhibit a granule-shaped microstructure with an average grain size of 1 μm or less. Resistivity gradually decrease as the amount of Mg²⁺ contents increased. And in the La_0.7Sr_0.1Mg_0.2MnO₃ specimen, resistivity and B_25/65-value are 36.7 Ω-cm and 394 K at room temperature, respectively. LSMMO specimens show a variable-range hopping (VRH) electrical conduction mechanism, and the negative temperature of coefficient of resistance (NTCR) is approximately 0.37~0.38%/℃.

In this paper, for the application of ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning dentures and transparent braces, Pb(Mn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-Pb(Ni_1/3 Nb_2/3)O₃-Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ [PMN-PNN-PZT] system ceramics were manufactured and their dielectric and piezoelectric properties were investigated. Overall the best properties suitable for the device applications such as ultrasonic cleaner were obtained from the ceramics sintered at 920℃: bulk density of 7.8 g/㎤, the dielectric constant (ε_r) of 1,689, piezoelectric charge constant (d₃₃) of 433 pC/N, planar electromechanical coupling factor (k_p) of 0.64, mechanical quality factor (Qm) of 835, S₁₁^E of 13.37 (10^-12 N/㎡), and Curie temperature of 315℃ By using the physical properties of this composition, the ultrasonic cleaner was designed and simulated using the commercial ATILA software. For the three-layered ceramics with the dimension of 25 mm × 25 mm × 2.5mm, an excellent displacement of 8.998 ×10^-3 m) and the sound pressure of 147.68 dB were recorded.

Recently, piezoelectric devices, such as ultrasonic surgery, ultrasonic atomizer, and ultrasonic speaker, are analyzed and designed by finite element simulation methods. However, the discrepancy between the design and the experiment results of the device typically occurs due to the inaccuracy of the piezoelectric material properties. To improve the simulation accuracy, the material properties of the PZT ceramics were better refined using parameter estimation method. The material parameters are elastic stiffness c^E_ij and piezoelectric constant e_ij of PZT ceramics. The impedance curve characteristics for the LTE mode of PZT ceramics were calculated. The mismatch between the simulation and the experimental data were compared and minimized by a least square method. Finally, the simulated impedance data were compared with the experimental data for the various vibration modes of PZT ceramics and the optimized material properties of PZT ceramics were verified. To further verify the accuracy, this method was also applied to piezoelectric PMN-PT single crystals.

Ultrasonic sensor is suitable as a next-generation autonomous driving assist device because its lower price compared to that of other sensors and its sensing stability in the external environment. Although Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ (PZT)-relaxor ferroelectric system has excellent piezoelectric properties, the change in capacitance is large in the daily operating temperature range due to the low phase transition temperature. Recently, many studies have been conducted to improve the temperature stability of ferroelectric ceramics by controlling the grain size and crystal structure, so it is necessary to study the effect of the grain size on the piezoelectric properties and the temperature stability of PZT-relaxor ferroelectric system. In this study, the piezoelectric properties, phase transition temperature, and temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) of 0.9 Pb(Zr_1-xTi_x)O₃-0.1 Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ (PZT_x-PZN) ceramics with various grain sizes were investigated. PZT_x-PZN ceramics with larger grain size showed higher piezoelectric properties and temperature stability, and are expected to be suitable for ultrasonic devices in the future.

La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ precursor solution were prepared by a sol-gel method. La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ thin films were fabricated by a spin-coating method on a Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate. Structural and electrical properties with the variation of sintering temperature were measured. All specimens exhibited a polycrystalline orthorhombic crystal structure, and the average thickness of the specimens coated 6 times decreased from about 427 nm to 383 nm as the sintering temperature increased from 740℃ to 830℃. Electrical resistance decreased as the sintering temperature increased. In the La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ thin films sintered at 830℃, electrical resistivity, TCR, B-value, and activation energy were 0.0374 mΩㆍcm, 0.316%/℃, 296 K and 0.023 eV, respectively.

(La_0.5Nd_0.2Sr_0.3)MnO₃ specimens were prepared by a solid-state reaction. In all specimens, X-ray diffraction patterns of an orthorhombic structure were shown. The fracture surfaces of (La_0.5Nd_0.2Sr_0.3)MnO₃ specimens showed a transgranular fracture pattern be possibly due to La ions (0.122 nm) as a perovskite A-site dopant substituting for Nd ions (0.115 nm) having a small ionic radius. The full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the Mn 2p XPS spectra showed a value greater than that [8] of the single valence state, which is believed to be due to the overlapping of Mn²⁺, Mn³⁺, and Mn⁴⁺ ions. The dependence of Mn 2p spectra on the Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ ratio according to sintering time was not observed. Electrical resistivity resulted in the minimum value of 100.7 Ω-cm for the specimen sintered for 9 hours. All specimens show a typical negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) characteristics. In the 9-hour sintered specimen, TCR, activation energy, and B25/65-value were -1.24%/℃, 0.19 eV, and 2,445 K, respectively.

For enhancing the flame-retardant properties of wallpapers, we developed an organic-inorganic hybrid solution with ZrSiO4 as a functional ceramic powder, coated on non-woven fabric using dip coating, spray coating, and slot-die coating methods. Their flame retardant properties were characterized by a 45° combustion tester, which is manufactured according to the flame-retardant performance standard (KOFEIS 1001 and KS F 2819). In organic-inorganic hybrid solution, with increasing the concentration of acid-catalyst (acetic acid), the precipitation of ZrSiO₄ powders increased, and the flame retardant properties decreased. The highest flame retardant result was obtained for the solution adding 5 wt% acetic acid. The optimization of the coating method and coating number resulted in the most excellent flame-retardant properties being obtained for the non-woven fabric coated for 5 or 7 times by dip coating method, and their flame-retardant properties corresponded to class 2 flame-retardant performance of wallpapers.

The field of liquid crystal display (LCD) is constantly in the spotlight and the process of depositing an alignment layer in the LCD manufacturing process is very important to obtain excellent performance such as low-power driving and high-speed response to improve LCD performance. Therefore, research on liquid crystal (LC) alignment is being actively conducted. When manufacturing LCD, it is necessary to consider the effect of the alignment layer thickness as one of the factors affecting various LCD performances. In addition, previous studies confirmed the LC alignment characteristics correlate with the rotation speed in the spin coating process. Therefore, the electro-optical properties of the LCD were investigated by manufacturing a polyimide alignment layer by varying the rotation speed in the spin coating process in this study. It was confirmed that the thickness of the polyimide alignment layer was controlled according to the spin coating conditions. The average transmittances of anti-parallel LC cells at the spin coating speed of 2,500 rpm and 3,000 rpm are about 60%, which indicates that the LC cell has relatively higher performance. At the spin coating speed of 3,000 rpm, the voltage-transmittance curve of twisted nematic (TN) LC cell was below 1.5 V, which means that the TN LC cell operated at a low power. In addition, high-speed operating characteristics were confirmed with a response time of less than 30 ms. From these derived data, we confirmed that the ideal spin coating speed is 3,000 rpm. And these results provide an optimized polyimide alignment layer process when considering enhanced future LCD manufacturing.

In this work, the (K_1-xAg_x)(Ta_0.8Nb_0.2)O₃ (x=0.1-0.4) ceramics were fabricated using mixed-oxide method, and their structural and electrical properties were measured. All specimens represented a pseudo cubic structure with the lattice constant of 0.3989 nm. When 0.4 mol of Ag was added, second phases induced from metallic Ag and K₂(Ta,Nb)₆O₁₆ phase were observed. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss of K(Ta_0.8Nb_0.2)O₃ specimen doped with 0.3 mol of Ag were 2,737 and 0.446, respectively. The curie temperature was about -5℃, which does not change with Ag addition. The remanent polarization began to decrease sharply around 12~15℃, and the temperature at which the remanent polarization began to decrease as the applied voltage increased shifted to the high temperature side. The electrocaloric effect (ΔT) and electrocaloric efficiency (ΔT/ΔE) of the (K_0.7Ag_0.3)(Ta_0.8Nb_0.2)O₃ ceramics were 0.01024℃ and 0.01825 KmV^-1, respectively.

The electrical characteristics of single-crystal composite superconductors produced by a melting process were studied by neutron irradiation. In order to improve the current characteristics of the YBa₂Cu₃O_7-y superconductor, it is necessary to form an effective flux pinning center inside the superconductor. In this study, an increase in flux pinning was attempted through neutron irradiation onto YBa₂Cu₃O_7-y superconductors. The neutron irradiation was performed at 30 MeV for 500 sec, The electrical properties of the superconductors were measured in a magnetic field of 5 Tesla at 50 K using a magnetic properties measurement system (MPMS). After neutron irradiation, the critical current density of the YBa₂Cu₃O_7-y superconductor in a 1 Tesla magnetic field was 1×10⁵ A/㎠. Once neutrons were irradiated at 30 MeV and 10 μA for 500 sec, the critical current density was observed to increase significantly. When neutrons are irradiated to a superconductor, micro-defects are created in the superconductor, and they act as flux pinning centers that hold the magnetic field generated when an electric current flows.

As the demand for new and renewable energy increases due to the depletion of fossil fuels, solar power generation, a core energy source for new and renewable energy, requires research on solar modules for high output power generation. In this paper, the electrical characteristics of solar cell strip at the edge and in the center of single-crystal silicon having a semi-square shape were analyzed. The cell strip located in the center showed the efficiency increase by 0.26% compared to the cell strip at the edge of the solar cell. A shingled photovoltaic module was manufactured for each cell strip. As a result, the output power of the module using the cell strip located in the center was higher by 0.992%.

Phase evolution, thermal and microwave dielectric properties of cordierite-Al₂O₃ composite were investigated. As the content of Al₂O₃ increased, mullite, sapphirine, and spinel were formed as secondary phases, implying that cordierite may be decomposed by the reaction with Al₂O₃. All sintered specimens exhibited dense microstructures. The densification occurred through liquid phase sintering. As the content of Al₂O₃ increased, the thermal expansion coefficient and the dielectric constant increased, whereas the quality factor decreased. The thermal expansion coefficient, the dielectric constant, and the quality factor of the 90 wt% cordierite 10 wt% Al₂O₃ composite sintered at 1,425℃ were 2.9×10^-6 K^-1, 5.1, and 34,844 GHz, respectively.

Theoretical background for the meaning of various piezoelectric properties can be easily found in a number of textbooks and academic papers. In contrast, how they are actually measured and characterized are rarely described, though this information would be the most important especially to the researchers who just started working on the field. It follows that this report was intended to provide a practical guidance for measuring basic but essential properties of ferroelectric-based piezoelectric materials. The discussion begins with how to measurement dielectric properties such as dielectric permittivity and loss (dissipation factor), followed by piezoelectric properties such as piezoelectric constants, electromechanical coupling factor, and quality factor as well as ferroelectric features, i.e., electric field dependent polarization hysteresis. Though our discussion here is limited to the techniques that are already well-standardized, it is expected to make a seed to be developed into more challenging and creative ones.

Durability of superconductors used to fabricate superconducting power machines is important, since the machines need to operate stably. Quench properties of GBCO (GdBa₂Cu₃O₇) coated conductor tapes laminated with brass were measured and analyzed to investigate the durability of tapes under repeated short-circuit conditions. With short currents applied to the tapes repeatedly, the quench properties of tapes were measured, and bubbles generated during quenches were observed. The results showed that quench resistance and distribution were maintained after repeated quenches. They were maintained after repeated quenches at various applied voltages, which show durability of the tapes under repeated short-circuit conditions. The quench distribution was uniform throughout repeated quenches, which contributed to the durability of tapes.

In this paper, we investigated the surface properties of polymer insulators to improve electrical insulation performance. First, after washing the polymer insulator in various ways, its contact angle was increased, thereby improving the hydrophobic properties and electrical insulation properties. In addition, TiO₂ thin films, which have been used as a photocatalytic material and have been applied to the polymer insulator surface of to enhance the surface and electrical insulating properties. For the sputtering method, the contact angle after coating the TiO₂ thin film increased with increasing RF power, but it was lower compared to that before coating, indicating that the hydrophobic properties of the surface were slightly deteriorated. Consequently, the electrical properties of the polymer-insulating material were maintained or improved after the TiO₂ thin-film coating.

Four types of BaTiO₃ powders are prepared and successfully deposited on glass and Pt/Si substrates using the aerosol deposition process. Particles with sizes of 0.45 μm and 0.3 μm are selected as the starting powder, while those powders are treated using a different milling method. The jet-milled and ball-milled powders not only showed a smaller particle-size distribution, but compared with the non-milled powder, it also had a higher deposition rate using the uniformly generated aerosol. Although the films deposited using particles with size 0.45 μm exhibited some craters on the surface, significantly flat film surfaces were obtained. However, particles with size 0.3 μm create a slightly rough film surface, but the dielectric constant was greater than in the case involving particles with size 0.45 μm. Consequently, a suitably large particle size significantly influences the deposition rate and improvement in the surface roughness, and a uniform particle size distribution appears to contribute to an improved dielectric constant. Therefore, it is believed that the dielectric properties along with the growth characteristics can be enhanced by limiting particle size and shape.

In this study, we investigate the effect of an Sb-deficiency on the thermoelectric properties of double-filled n-type skutterudite (In_0.05Yb_0.15Co₄Sb_12-x). Samples were prepared by encapsulated induction melting, consecutive long-time annealing, and finally spark plasma sintering processes. The Sb-deficient sample contained a CoSb₂ secondary phase. Both the double-filled n-type skutterudite pristine and Sb-deficient samples showed metallic behavior in electrical conductivity with increasing temperature. The carrier concentration of the Sb-deficient sample decreased compared with that of the pristine sample. Due to a decrease in carrier concentration, the Sb deficient sample showed decreased electrical conductivity and an increased Seebeck coefficient compared with the conductivity and coefficient of the pristine sample. Furthermore, the Sb deficient sample showed an increase in the power factor (σ·S²); the power factor maximum shifted to athe lower temperature side than ones of the pristine sample. As a result, the Sb-deficient sample represents an improved average figure of merit (ZT) and a ZT_max temperature lower than that of the pristine sample. Therefore, we propose that Sb-deficient double-filled n-type skutterudite thermoelectric material (In_0.05Yb_0.15Co₄Sb_12-x) be used in the 573~673 K temperature range.

This study investigated the influence of the viscoelastic property of slag when producing glass fiber, MFS631 with 60% of manganese slag, 30% of steel slag, and 10% of silica stone. To fabricate the MFS631 glass bulk, slag materials were placed in an alumina crucible, melted at 1,550℃ for 2 h, and then annealed at 600℃ for 2 h. It was found that glass is non-crystalline through X-ray diffraction analysis. MFS631 fiber was produced at speed in the range of 100~300 rpm at 1,150℃. The loss modulus (G″) and storage modulus (G′) of the produced glass fiber were evaluated at high temperatures. G′ and G″ of MFS631 were greater than 893℃, and the modulus value was 136,860 pa. This is similar to the results of a general E-glass fiber graph. Therefore, it was concluded that its spinnability is similar to that of E-glass fiber; therefore, it can be commercialized.

Pure BiFeO₃ (BFO) and (Eu, V) co-doped Bi_0.9Eu_0.1Fe_0.975V_0.025O_3+δ (BEFVO) thin films were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by chemical solution deposition. The effects of co-doping were observed by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrical properties of the BEFVO thin film were improved as compared to those of the pure BFO thin film. The remnant polarization (2P_r) of the BEFVO thin film was approximately 26 μC/cm² at a maximum electric field of 1,190 kV/cm with a frequency of 1 kHz. The leakage current density of the co-doped BEFVO thin film (4.81×10^-5 A/cm² at 100 kV/cm) was two orders of magnitude lower than of that of the pure BFO thin film.

Pb(Sb_0.5Nb_0.5)x(Zr_0.51Ti_0.49)_1-xO₃ (abbreviation: PSN-PZT) ceramics were synthesized, using conventional bulk ceramic processing technology, with various PSN doping contents. The maximum density of PSN-PZT was 97% of the theoretical density in the samples sintered at 1,250℃. The maximum values of the piezoelectric properties achieved using the conventional processes were: k_p of 0.625, d₃₃ of 531 pC/N, and g₃₃ of 33 mV·m/N. Finally, we fabricated a piezo-speaker with the optimized PSN-PZT ceramics. The SPL of the speaker was measured at a distance of 1 m, with a driving voltage of 40 V_rms in the frequency range of ~300 Hz to 9 kHz. The measured SPL_max was at a very high level (95 dB), which was superior in quality in comparison with those of other commercial products.